This invention relates to a level winding reel mechanism which will find various applications, but is particularly well adapted for level winding a cable or other line in a bin level indicator of the type having a weight which is suspended from the lower end of the cable, so that the weight can be lowered into a tank or bin until the weight comes into contact with the material in the bin. The cable is then wound up upon the reel until the weight reaches the housing of the bin level indicator, at or near the top of the bin. A bin level indicator of this type generally includes means for automatically reeling the cable out and in, so as to lower and raise the weight, and means for measuring the length of the cable which is reeled out in order to cause the weight to come into contact with the material in the bin. The measurement of the cable may be carried out either during the reeling out or the reeling in of the cable.
In bin level indicators of this type, it has been the prevailing practice to employ a reeling mechanism in which the cable or other line is jumble wound on the reel. However, in some cases, the jumble winding of the line has caused the various wrappings of the line to become entangled with one another, so as to cause jamming of the bin level indicator.